Fayez Sarofim & Co. lowered its stake in Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 398,182 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after selling 40,350 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co. owned 0.07% of Franklin Resources worth $17,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 22.8% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,002 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 3,161 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 1,550.0% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 21,119,419 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $889,973,000 after purchasing an additional 19,839,472 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 996.3% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 716,720 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $30,203,000 after purchasing an additional 651,346 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 1.2% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 732,643 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $30,884,000 after purchasing an additional 8,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Franklin Resources by 3.2% in the first quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 50,382 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.97% of the company’s stock.

In other Franklin Resources news, CFO Kenneth A. Lewis sold 17,141 shares of Franklin Resources stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.51, for a total transaction of $762,945.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 124,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,520,174.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 21.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) traded up 0.78% during trading on Friday, reaching $42.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,613,989 shares. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.09. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.02 and a 12-month high of $47.65. The company has a market capitalization of $23.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 1.73.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 28th. The closed-end fund reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.73. Franklin Resources had a return on equity of 13.96% and a net margin of 27.30%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. Franklin Resources’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post $2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 13th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is currently 26.14%.

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Several analysts have weighed in on the company. BidaskClub downgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 10th. UBS AG restated a “neutral” rating and set a $45.00 target price (down previously from $46.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “hold” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Franklin Resources in a report on Monday, July 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.09.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc is a holding company. The Company, along with its subsidiaries, operates as Franklin Templeton Investments. It is a global investment management company that provides investment management and related services to retail, institutional and high net-worth clients in jurisdictions around the world.